Kim Pearson for Iowa House district 42 and Wes Enos for State Senate district 21

May 27, 2010 by Leave a Comment

It has been a great primary season so far and one of the things that has made it so great is that I actually have two solid Republicans running in my district for both the Iowa House and the State Senate.  In 2008 my Democratic state representative didn’t even have a challenger and my Democratic state senator has been in the legislature since 1983, so having two promising conservatives to challenge them is refreshing.

Kim Pearson is running for Iowa House district 42 to take on Geri Huser in the fall.  Kim is a strong conservative born from the movement that has been happening to take back our state and our nation from not only the left but from the GOP party establishment that has aided and embedded the liberals to dismantle our republic.  She is anything but a politician, but instead someone who deeply cares about our state and the direction it is going and has stepped up to the call to do something about it.  She is a conservative who stands for all principles of the Republican party:  freedom for the people, tax reform, reduced spending, state’s rights, life, traditional marriage, 2nd Amendment, Right to Work, and excellence in education.  Kim is in the primary on June 8 and I encourage you to learn about her on her website and to read Caffeinated Thoughts where there is another great article on her.

Wes Enos is running for State Senate district 21 to take on Dennis Black in the fall.  Wes is unique in that even though he has never held an elected public office he has extensive experience in working with the grassroots in various campaigns and serving on the State Central Committee.  He definitely knows the concerns and desires of the everyday Iowan and is well aware of the political climate through his contact with the boots on the ground.  Wes is also a conservative who stands for all principles of the GOP and knows that all issues must be addressed in order for the Republican party to succeed.  Wes in the June 8 primary and I encourage you to check him out on his website.  I believe the State Senate is lacking Republican leadership and Wes would be a much needed addition.

These are two strong candidates running in the Polk and Jasper county areas and we need them to take on Geri Huser and Dennis Black in the fall so that our state can start reversing the nightmare it is in right now.

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Rathje Advocates For Tariffs

May 24, 2010 by 1 Comment

One of the most thankless jobs in our nation is that of an elected official. While being an elected official means that a majority of the citizen’s in the official’s district approve of the official there is usually a large amount that disapprove of the official at the same time. It is the thankless nature of serving in an elected capacity that result in the closer examination of the said officials motivations. For many that motivation is simply a desire to serve the citizens of the district to the best of the individual’s ability. For others the desire to profit from that service is all too often the primary reason for seeking out elected office. In essence does the official place a higher premium upon being able to profit from his or her time in office.

Unfortunately in the last few weeks I have been receiving communications from some individuals in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District that one of their declared candidates may have the profit motive as the dominant motivation for seeking office. The candidate in questions is Steve Rathje. Before I continue I must state that I was not going to run with this because it was unconfirmed, that is I had only received this through secondary sources and had not received confirmation of the event that I am about to show you. Apparently at one of his campaign events Steve Rathje asserted that he would push to institute tariffs on all products imported into the United States. Please watch the following short clip to confirm that he did indeed articulate this view.

This position alone would not be enough alone to cause me to be concerned with his motivation. However the business that Mr. Rathje founded and continues to operate specializes in finding ways for corporations that manufacture products abroad to produce the same products within the United States at a savings. If tariffs were to be instituted as Mr. Rathje advocates, the potential profit that his company would realize would be tremendous. It is this potential profit that throws Rathje’s motivation for running into question.

I truly believe that with his advocation of the imposition of tariffs Mr. Rathje is being extremely shortsighted. While the tariffs would have the short term benefit of increasing the number of jobs in the United States, it would have the unintended consequence of sparking a global trade war. Other nations would have to, out of necessity, impose tariffs on products being shipped to their nation. The only winner in this situation would be governments with the ultimate losers being the consumers of the various nations.

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Branstad Bunch: Same names, same games

May 24, 2010 by 4 Comments

Guest commentary by Current Resident.

My mail box has been crowded lately with campaign materials for and against Terry Branstad, Republican primary candidate for Governor.

“Terry Branstad was a liberal’s liberal.”

“Liberal Terry Branstad would make Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi proud.”

“One of the best liberal governors this state has ever had.” David Yepsen

And then the Former Governor has sent out his own materials to let me know that he “will stand strong for TRADITIONAL IOWA VALUES.” Also, that he is the “REAL conservative change that Iowa needs now.”

The unflattering materials have a “Paid for by Iowans for Responsible Government” return address. Some checking finds information about this group via the Iowa Independent.

The liberal front group is going after Branstad and the Branstad bunch is not happy about it. Payback time for anti Culver ads.

The calls for disclosure echo those by Democrats in regards to the conservative nonprofit Iowa Progress Project. The group, which is registered as a 501(c)4 nonprofit, does not have to disclose its donors, something Democrats have taken exception to, calling the group “a secret political slush fund that lacks the honesty or integrity to reveal their campaign contributors.”

Iowa Progress Project has close ties to a number of current and former Branstad aides.

And after more reading I have decided my mail box is being stuffed due to a battle of Democrats against the moderate, establishment Republicans at work.

This site takes you to this site which takes you to the Iowa Democrats  Face book page.

Some of the information from Iowa Knows Better:

May 5, 2010
Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan released the statement below following Terry Branstad’s comments regarding open records and transparency in state government to the Des Moines Register editorial board this morning.

“Branstad should be familiar with self-dealing cronies after his own Chief of Staff Doug Gross made millions lobbying the state government. Or maybe Branstad’s memory isn’t serving him well anymore; he ‘forgot’ about ever discussing the Clarinda prison project with Gross.

“Branstad’s administration was one of the most cozy, back-scratching operations in the history of state government. His appointees mirrored his donor list.

State Paid $160 Million Over Five Years To Clients of Law Firm Of Branstad’s Former Chief of Staff “The ethics investigation was accompanied by the release of a report by (State Auditor Richard) Johnson and (state Treasurer Michael) Fitzgerald, the state auditor and treasurer, on state government contracts with businesses represented by the Brown Winick firm as well as direct payments to the firm for legal services.  In all, the state paid more than $160 million over five years to clients of the law firm. Most of the money—$96 million—was paid to MFS Technologies for construction of the statewide fiber-optic network. The state spends a lot on private contractors. In 1993 alone, Iowa spent more than $200 million just on service contracts.”  (Des Moines Register, September 22, 2002)

The Iowa Knows Better group has done their homework on Terry Branstad.

It is a rather tangled web. Tangled up are names like Doug Gross and Mitt Romney and Terry Branstad. These three names and probably more names are all the more reason for Iowans to do their own research. Yes an important incentive for Iowa primary voters to really understand who comes along for the ride with Terry Branstad.

More of the same names and same faces from the last go around.

No thank you.

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Mitt Romney Rallying the Base in the Iowa GOP Gubernatorial Primary

May 18, 2010 by 12 Comments

Today it was announced that Mitt Romney has thrown his support behind Terry Branstad in the Iowa Governor’s race.  Really not surprising since most of Branstad’s campaign staff and the people he associates with are Romney people.  What is surprising is that Mitt decided to enter into this messy primary which is something he is not known to do.  Could it be because Mike Huckabee has endorsed Branstad’s rival in the race, Bob Vander Plaats?

This endorsement is a stupid move for Mitt Romney and the Branstad campaign.  Let’s think back to the 2008 Iowa Caucuses and the crushing defeat that Huckabee delivered Romney that shocked the nation and turned politics as usual upside-down.  Huckabee was out spent 15 to 1 but still won by almost ten points because Iowans rejected the candidate of Mitt Romney and his message that they were seeing and hearing for almost a year.  Spending a lot of money on advertising and stuffing mailboxes was no match for the grassroots effort that propelled the former Governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister to a decisive victory.  The base rallied to eliminate Mitt Romney from the Presidential race to instead launch someone of principles and conviction.

This is why once again Mitt Romney will rally the base in Iowa, however, it will most likely be against his candidate of choice in the gubernatorial primary and not for.  Romney could spark the get out the vote needed to push Bob Vander Plaats over the top to victory because if there is one things Iowan have proved, they are not bought and paid for.

This is a un-needed endorsement for the Branstad campaign and the slogan of “with friends like that, who needs enemies” sure does seem to fit.  The Iowa voter does not need to see the similarities between these two candidates if Branstad is going to succeed in securing the nomination.  Similarities such as both of them raising taxes and “fees” (that way we don’t need to call them taxes), Romney writing the blue print for ObamaCare and Branstad campaigning for the deciding vote on ObamaCare,  Romney signing into law $50 taxpayer-funded abortions and Branstad putting a Planned Parenthood cheerleader on the ticket with him, Romney taking a court opinion and making same-sex marriage a “law” and Branstad surrendering to the courts on making same-sex marriage a “law,” and finally, Romney employing illegal immigrants at his house and Branstad not willing to take a stand for Iowa on illegal immigration.

With friends like that, who needs enemies.  They rallying of the base has begun.

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Campaign for Liberty to Host Regional Conference

May 11, 2010 by 2 Comments

If you have been paying attention to politics over the last two years you may have noticed an explosion of grassroots conservative organizations. One of those organizations, Campaign for Liberty, has a strong presence in Iowa. The Iowa Chapter of Campaign for Liberty is headed up by Drew Ivers. For those of you that are ardent listeners of Deace in the Afternoon you might recognize Ivers from the segment of the show dedicated to the study of the book The 5000 Year Leap. Besides being a constitutional expert, Drew Ivers is also one of the newly elected members of the Republican State Central Committee. I have been slightly involved with Campaign for Liberty, an involvement that I intend to increase. This is because the organization is not about furthering the organization; it is about educating the public about the constitutional principles by which our country was founded.

To assist in that education Campaign for Liberty is hosting a three day conference in Des Moines at the Downtown Embassy Suites this weekend. Called “The Future of Conservatism in America”, the event is a mix of training for activists and moral boosting rallies. The first day of the event will be a celebration of freedom and is called appropriately “A Celebration of Freedom.” The first day is marked by two well known speakers. The first is local conservative radio personality Jan Mickelson, the other is former Presidential candidate Ron Paul.

The second day of the event is kicked off by a series of grassroots training sessions. If you are an activist wanting to make a difference in Iowa and the nation, make sure that you attend the training sessions. The training sessions are facilitated by constitutional experts from across the nation, and as such there is a necessary fee involved with the sessions. It will cost an individual just $59. The knowledge that you will gain at these classes will be more than worth the price of admission.

On Saturday afternoon the free forum events kick in again as The Forum on the Future of Conservatism takes place. This event will be packed with speakers from across the nation on a wide variety of pertinent topics. From historian Tom Woods to constitutional scholar Robert Murphy, the wide range of topics will surely be able to quench your appetite for information.

Regardless of your background, the events available this weekend will most assuredly have something for everyone. Furthermore the knowledge that you come away with after this three day celebration of liberty will assist you in your quest to restore our nation. If you would like to attend you can order your tickets here. And if you would like more information about Campaign for Liberty check out their website here.

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Iowa Democratic Party e-mail targeting Charles Grassley

May 6, 2010 by 1 Comment

Just for the fun of it I will share an e-mail that was recently sent out by the Iowa Democratic Party. Their blooper was sending their plan (plot) to someone who shared it with callmecrusader.

Yesterday, President Obama came back to Iowa again. He spoke with people from across our state about the economy, jobs, health care, and financial reform and what Democrats are doing to move America forward.

The good news is that we have already produced results.

After a little more than a year in office, we went from hundreds of thousands of jobs lost each month to over a hundred thousand jobs created last month. We made history by passing health insurance reform and now, President Obama and Democrats in Washington are working to reform Wall Street.

But Senator Charles Grassley is joining with his Republican allies, trying to play politics and stop Democrats from moving this country forward.

There are three great Democratic candidates running to retire Chuck Grassley, but we need your help if we are going to be successful. That’s why we are hosting retirement parties for him- come to the party, bring your friends, and learn how to help retire Grassley.

Will you join us at a retirement party for Senator Charles Grassley?

Just like he did during the health insurance reform debate, Grassley is repeating false Republican talking points. He’s standing with his Republican leaders and their Wall Street friends in their attempt to block financial reform, and not with hard-working Iowans who have suffered from this economic crisis.

Iowa needs a Senator that will fight for Iowa’s hard-working families, instead of towing the line for the Republican Party.

I’m inviting you to join us at a retirement party for Senator Charles Grassley. Will you attend?

You and I know that Iowa needs another Senator who will join Senator Harkin and fight for hard-working Iowans.

I hope to see you at one of the retirement parties!

My Republican opinion: Iowa DOES need Senator Grassley.

What we certainly do not need is another Democrat to “join Senator Harkin…” (Come to think of it, how many retirement parties can we have for Harkin in the next 5 years?!?)

With all of the hard-working Iowans who must be out working hard to earn a living to pay the taxes that the Democrats keep heaping on us, I can only wonder how many Iowans will have the time to attend a retirement party for Senator Grassley.

Democrats: “moving the country forward.” How about moving America into debt, debt, and more debt!

Planning a celebration for Republican victories in November will be my kind of party.

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Eminent Domain updates from Story and Clarke Counties

May 5, 2010 by 2 Comments

Story County is now added to the list of places in Iowa where there is a potential for the use of eminent domain to take property from farmers and landowners. You may read about the complicated attempt to take Story County land for a water treatment plant in The Tribune article.

Here we go again.

Once more it was the pain and stress verbalized by the land owners that caught my attention and tugged at my heart.

“Just don’t take my family farm,” said Teresa Garman, who owns land just south of East Riverside Road and west of Dayton Avenue.
Garman said owning a farm is different from owning a house in the city.
“That’s my life,” she said. “I’m not going peacefully, I’ll tell you that.”

Story County citizens have the opportunity to attend the May 11 Ames City Council informational meeting.  This meeting is important. As other landowners have learned the hard way, the desire to take land is strong and the “government entities” have the money and resources to force their will on those who do not have the money and legal assistance at their disposal. The public must pay attention to the discussion and the decisions that will occur.

Meanwhile, eminent domain issues are not going well for those who covet land in Clarke County.

A proposed reservoir project in the county has again been delayed, and those working on the project aren’t happy about it.

“We keep getting shoved back a month, six months, a year,” said Harold Allen Jr., a commission member representing Woodburn. “We can’t even get a date set…. and I have a problem with that.”

It seems there is an issue with the Code of Iowa and existing hog confinements being 1,000 feet away from a major water source.

In a Letter to the Editor published in the Osceola Sentinel- Tribune, Kathy Kelly comments on the location of the hog confinement units. She also highlights some of the costs associated with building a recreation/water source lake.

Expenditures the Clarke County Reservoir Commission won’t bring to your attention:
• USDA NRCS (federal assistance planning leader and staff)  (from 4/23/09) $68,207.22
• USDA NRCS (balance payable on contract thru 8/31/2010) $127,204.66
• Lawyers     $ 62,521.22
• Southern Iowa RC&D (affiliate of NRCS)  (for administrative assistance) $53,200
• Howard R. Green, Garden Associates (engineering firms) $39,275.15
• GLB Enterprises, LLC  (prematurely hired land acquisition coordinator) $70,222
• Website design $1,500.00

It is apparent that the threat of eminent domain continues to march through Iowa. Landowners pitted against land takers.
As Iowans look at the various candidates who wish to represent us at the Iowa State House I strongly suggest that we ask them their views on the use of eminent domain. We need to know which of our elected officials will stand up for landowners rights.

Teresa Garman is “not going peacefully” down the road to give up her land. I feel her pain, I join her struggle. Iowans in other parts of the state can identify with her strong feelings. Many know first hand how “government entities” work to take what is not theirs.
Iowans stand with your neighbors to fight against the growing use of eminent domain.

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What Does a Front-runner Look Like?

May 3, 2010 by 4 Comments

I really don’t know a concrete answer to that question, however, I do know what a front-runner does NOT look like.  He does not look like Republican gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad at the Cedar Rapids debate last week.  He pulled a couple of stunts that looked like a drowning man grasping for a life-preserver.

First there was the party unity question in which he basically gave Bob Vander Plaats a free pass to hammer him on.  If you have ever endorsed a Democrat like Branstad has I would recommend  not going around touting that you have always supported the Republican party.  Never mind that this Democrat he endorsed from the sleeper state of Nebraska became an overnight sensation when he sold out to ObamaCare for some silver.  That is a skeleton that Terry Branstad thought would probably never fall out of the closet and if it did, it wouldn’t be connected to the biggest government takeover in history.

Bob Vander Plaats smashing him in the head with this endorsement had to sting, but if Branstad really is the front-runner then he should have just let it slide and not get in the mud.  By lashing out at Vander Plaats, he basically put a big “guilty” on his forehead and allowed Vander Plaats to walk away untouched as the one who really attempted to unite the party.

Next is the controversy on Vander Plaats’ Executive Order that would stay gay marriage until correct Constitutional action could be taken.  The Executive Order is something the Branstad people have shrugged off as illegal and stupid.  If this is the case, then why did he lower himself to an outburst about it while Vander Plaats was talking about it?  A front-runner who is faced with an issue that supposedly has no traction, like they claim about Vander Plaats’ Executive Order, leaves the response from his opponent go.  But instead Branstad interrupts Vander Plaats with an example from the Governor Vilsack days of an Executive Order that he was sued over.  This led Vander Plaats to respond and to get the last word in. 

There is some discussion that the two candidates were talking about two different Executive Orders from Vilsack but it really doesn’t matter because both of them were unconstitutional because they both attempted to make law.  Vander Plaats’ Executive Order does not make law but instead encourages the system of making law to legally proceed.  This heated exchange made it look like Branstad had a senile moment because he in no way clarified what he was talking about with the Vilsack example (he couldn’t clarify because it was an outburst during a time when he wasn’t supposed to be speaking) and Vander Plaats looked like a Governor in command of the situation.

After the debate Terry Branstad still carried on his attack on Bob Vander Plaats which is what the media picked up on out of the debate.  Perhaps after seeing and hearing that footage the public also saw a drowning man grasping for a life-preserver or maybe they just saw an era of days gone by slide down the tubes.

What a front-runner does NOT look like.

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